Flags on the Bayou

by James Lee Burke

Hardcover $28.99 (now taking orders for autographed copies)

In the fall of 1863, the Union Army is in control of the Mississippi River. Much of Louisiana, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is occupied. The Confederate Army is in disarray, and enslaved men and women are beginning to glimpse freedom.

When Hannah Laveau, an enslaved woman working on the Lufkin plantation, is accused of murder, she goes on the run with Florence Milton, an abolitionist school teacher, dodging the local constable and the slave catchers that prowl the bayous. Wade Lufkin, haunted by what he observed and did as a surgeon on the battlefield, has returned to his uncle’s plantation to convalesce, where he becomes enraptured by Hannah.

Flags on the Bayou is an engaging, action-packed narrative that includes a duel that ends in disaster, a brutal encounter with the local Union commander, repeated skirmishes with Confederate irregulars led by a diseased and probably deranged colonel, and a powerful love blossoming between an unlikely pair. As the story unfolds, it illuminates a past that reflects our present in sharp relief.

James Lee Burke, whose “evocative prose remains a thing of reliably fierce wonder” (EW) expertly renders the rich Louisiana landscape. Flags on the Bayou is a story of tragic acts of war, class divisions upended, and love enduring through it all.

Review presented by: Books Along The Teche

337-367-7621 | 106 E. Main St., New Iberia

JENNIFER KAPPEL

Medium: watercolor

Cost: $175

Available at: A&E Gallery, New Iberia

While Jennifer Kappel earned her degree in fine arts from LSU (where she studied under influential professors Paul Dufour, Robert Warrens and Ed Pramuk), her interest in art got a boost from her travels to Europe. There she experienced firsthand the classics and the works of the finest contemporary artists. Kappel’s has an affinity for pictorial subjects, and she enjoys experimenting with techniques. Her favorite mediums are powdered charcoal, pastel, oil, acrylic and watercolor.

ANNE CROWNOVER

Medium: Fiber

Available at: Hilliard Art Museum Store

Price: $32-$42

As a child, St. Martinville native Anne Crownover was nurtured in the arts and encouraged to be creative. From hand-sewing her doll’s clothes at age 4 to her most current basket techniques, she has spent a lifetime experimenting with different materials and mediums. Her entry into fiber work was first in glass, creating mosaic art and stained glass, including pendants made from her studio, Cuckoo’s Nest Art in Lafayette. Most recently she has combined her love for sewing with rope to create stunning baskets. Crownover’s work can be seen and purchased at The Hilliard Gift Shop, NuNu in Arnaudville and Lafayette Art Association.

J.N. VIZINA

Work: Johnston Street

Medium: watercolor

Cost: $350

Available at: Judice Art Collective, Lafayette

Vizina, a Mamou native, graduated from USL in 1974 with a degree in art education, then went on to serve in the US Marine Corp for 25 years, where he rose to the rank of colonel. His early works were primarily pencil, pen and inks, and during his years as Presidential Command Pilot for Ronald Reagan’s Marine One, he illustrated several Christmas cards for the White House. Upon retirement from the Marine Corp and from his engineering career in oil and gas, he picked up his pen and ink once again, and added watercolor.